Wordy Wednesday 423: Pathfinder 23 & Wordy Wednesday 424: Codewords 15

WORDY WEDNESDAY #421
SNAKE CRISSCROSS 17 (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Cindy Heisler **
Cole Kendall **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman *
Jason Boomer **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #422
DIVIDED INTO COLUMNS 7 (hint)

As of this writing, 5 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

LAST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH = DOUBLE WORDY WEDNESDAYS!
WORDY WEDNESDAY #423
PATHFINDER 23
(click here for a PDF version)

In this puzzle, each answer starts in the correspondingly numbered square, goes in some direction, and makes one or more right-angled turns as it winds through the grid. When you have finished, every letter will be used in exactly two entries.

Rearrange the letters in the shaded spaces to get the final answer, an 8-letter word.

1 Mollusc-flavored vegetable juice brand (7)

2 Be generous (6)

2 Purple-wearing member of a fictional foursome (9)

3 Trigger (3 3)

4 Skor ingredient (6)

5 A noble gas (5)

6 Like many an interjection (11)

7 Absolutely serious (2-8)

8 Boxing arena (4)

9 The Satanic ____ (Salman Rushdie novel) (6)

10 Beginning point (5)

11 Ancient harp relatives (5)

12 Word before “column” or “wheel” (8)

13 “When in ____. . .” (4)

14 1975 hit for David Bowie (4)

15 Openings through which gas can escape (5)

16 One using the beta version of software (6)

17 As the ____ flies (4)

18 Simple ____ (rock band) (4)

18 Braid (5)

19 Boom’s support (4)

19 Island of ____ Toys (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer location) (6)

20 Soccer team number (6)

21 Up (5)

22 Conceited (4)

22 Old Dominion tourism slogan (8 2 3 6)

23 Dome-shaped dwellings (6)

24 The second-most populous Massachusetts city (9)

25 Like a binder where the pages can be rearranged (5-4)

WORDY WEDNESDAY #424
CODEWORDS 15
(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle contains a word suggested by patron Kyle Nils. Support me on Patreon at the Super Fan level ($5/month) and solve the monthly Patron Puzzle for a chance to suggest a seed word for a future puzzle, or at the Ultra Fan level ($20/month) to suggest one seed word every month!

In the crossword puzzle above, every letter is represented by an integer from 1 through 26. You must decipher the code to reveal the words.

Arrange the letters in the shaded spaces to spell the final answer, an eight-letter word.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5-letter word for "____ Cowboy (1980 film with Debra Winger as Sissy)"?
* Patron Puzzle #87, which will be delivered exclusively to Patreon supporters at the Super Fan level and up ($5 or more per month), is a Vocabulary Fun Pack.

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, happy solving!

Contest: A Musical Crisscross (easier version!)

Last week, I posted the contest A Musical Crisscross. As promised, here is an easier version with two words placed at the outset. I hope you will try this puzzle out. Remember, you stand a chance to win prizes and to help feed people (see the original post for more details)! The deadline is 11:59 PM Central time on August 1, 2021!

Wordy Wednesday 422: Divided Into Columns 7

WORDY WEDNESDAY #420
PENT WORDS 84 (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Cindy Heisler **
Cole Kendall **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Tyler Hinman **
Brian Cross **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #421
SNAKE CRISSCROSS 17 (hint)

As of this writing, 9 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #422
DIVIDED INTO COLUMNS 7
(click here for rules)
(click here for a PDF version)

Leader, as of police __ __ __ __ __

                     22 19 88 10 53

____ sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34. . .) __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                                  69 57 01 79 74 85 52 36 24

Dried corn prepared in a caustic solution __ __ __ __ __ __

                                          05 66 89 67 34 78

Caterpillar also called a looper __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                 51 06 09 72 38 61 91 96

Ice Cube’s Ride Along (2014) costar: 2 wds. __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                            94 23 21 60 65 33 50 58 71

Not tight __ __ __ __ __

          27 02 35 14 92

Where Hooper’s Store is located: 2 wds. __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                        20 56 97 49 16 32 46 81 90 93 77 03

Sneakiness __ __ __ __ __ __ __

           41 17 18 75 42 30 73

Big name in Western hats __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                         25 47 39 59 63 87 82

Item that shields a driver from light: 2 wds. __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                              13 48 68 07 11 44 62 95

Grow one’s molars and canines __ __ __ __ __ __

                              80 28 37 70 15 04

____ sunrise (cocktail) __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                        55 76 43 83 26 29 86

Shape of a sound signal __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                        84 08 31 40 45 12 54 64

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 6-letter word for "The Satanic ____ (Salman Rushdie novel)"?
* A Codewords!

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, happy solving!

Contest: A Musical Crisscross

(PDF of this puzzle to print out)

Fit the words below the grid into the crisscross, reading left to right and top to bottom. The letters in the pink cells, in order from left to right starting with the top row, will spell a lyric from a song.

ACRYLIC DESCENT MESSIER SHELLAC

AMIABLE DESPAIR METHANE SIGHTED

AMONGST ENDGAME MINUTIA STENCHY

ANATASE GAROTTE ODYSSEY SURNAME

BRAMBLE LEARNED PANACHE THIOLIC

COPYCAT MANMADE PROMISE TRITONE

CUBICAL MANTRAS SCISSOR UGLIEST

CYCLOPS MEMENTO SCULPTS

Send your filled-in grid to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com before 11:59 PM Central time on July 25, 2021, to get two entries in the contest; identify the song before that time for another two entries (a maximum of four). Then an easier version of this puzzle will be posted with two words placed already as hints; solvers who submit their filled-in grids before 11:59 PM Central time on August 1, 2021 will get one entry, and solvers who identify the song before then will get one entry. A randomly-selected winner will win signed copies of the April 2018 and June 2018 issues of Games World of Puzzles (they were sitting around, and I think I intended to give them away long ago given their pristine condition) plus a surprise gift featuring a fox/badger character that veterans of this blog might remember. Additionally, for every entry in this contest, I will add $2 to a money pool, up to $50 of which will be donated to the Food Bank of West Central Texas in my next contest (a word-guessing contest where the pool decreases every week the words remain unguessed, so any money above $50 will serve as a time buffer). Happy solving!

(Edited 2021/7/21 to change the black cells to an ink-saving grey.)

Patron Puzzles for Philanthropy: 10x10x10 Crosswords II

This update to the Patron Puzzles for Philanthropy initiative is to announce the 10x10x10 Crosswords II pack. A sequel to 10x10x10 Crosswords, this contains 10 10x10 mini-crosswords for the price of US$2.50. Compared to the predecessor, 10x10x10 Crosswords II contains a heightened emphasis on offbeat puzzles; there are 2 themed puzzles, 2 themeless puzzles, 3 vwllss puzzles (where all vowels are removed from the answers before entering them; there are no Y's, and each puzzle comes with an easier version with full answer enumerations and a harder version without them), and 3 Something Different puzzles (where literally any combination of words is allowed to be an entry). Each puzzle comes in PUZ form (for electronic solving) and PDF form (for printing), and solutions (including full answers to the vwllss puzzles, with vowels added back in) are all available as well.

As a reminder, this is a charity initiative. Please e-mail me (glmathgrantATgmailDOTcom) a copy of your charitable receipt to my local food bank, the Food Bank of West Central Texas, to receive this puzzle pack. (It must be a new donation, dated no earlier than one day before you email me.) Click here for a list of all of the puzzle packs in this initiative. Happy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 421: Snake Crisscross 17

WORDY WEDNESDAY #418
DIGRAMLESS CROSSWORD 7 (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Bonnie Veenschoten **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Jason Boomer **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #419
TOUCHWORD 21 (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Cindy Heisler **
Cole Kendall **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Kyle Nils **
Mary Maynard **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Kevin Orfield **
Patrick Jordan **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #420
PENT WORDS 84 (hint)

As of this writing, 9 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #421
SNAKE CRISSCROSS 17
(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle's crisscross grid contains entries which read across and down as normal; these words are defined in alphabetical order by length under the heading “Crisscross Words.” The grid also contains a number of “snakes”: areas which follow a single clear path. Each of these snakes contains an entry which snakes from one end of the path to the other. These entries are defined under the heading “Snake Words”, and are also clued in alphabetical order by length. You must determine how the grid is divided into snakes; no two snakes overlap.

Arrange the letters in the highlighted cells to form the final answer, an 8-letter word.

CRISSCROSS WORDS

3 LETTERS

Donkey relative

The Sacramento ____ (newspaper)

Billy the ____

On the ____ (on the run)

French first-person pronoun

____ de plume

Miner’s yield

Music genre of Jamaican origin

____ and feather

Piece of advice

4 LETTERS

From the start

____ and crafts

Eager

Blessing

____ as Ice (1991 film starring Vanilla Ice)

Bean ____ (tofu)

College residence, briefly

Black, poetically

Nothing

Enforcer of drug laws, slangily

____ Season (2006 animated movie)

Uproar

Measure of paper

“____ and shine!”

Certain mint

5 LETTERS

____ Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974 crime film)

Man making a vow, possibly

Absolutely mutilates

Finely chop

Walnut relative

A twill fabric

____ bear

“____ not, want not”

6 LETTERS

Marshy bodies of water

Halo: ____ Evolved (2001 video game)

CNN anchor Anderson

Mute

Dolly Parton hit

Nullify

8 LETTERS

Swedish electric car brand

9 LETTERS

Romani character in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

10 LETTERS

Number of drinks it takes to get excessively drunk, perhaps: 3 wds.

14 LETTERS

Legendary pop musician. . .: 2 wds.

. . . and the author’s favorite song by said pop musician: 2 wds.

SNAKE WORDS

5 LETTERS

Texas Revolution battle site

Frasier’s surname

Late-night legend Letterman

“Sentimental Journey” singer Day

Emulate Romeo and Juliet

Silly

Become liable to, as expenses

____ Sound Machine (pop music band)

Dark coffee

Swedish prize namesake Alfred

The Threepenny ____

Emulate Patrick Chan, say

____: The Sixth Sense (1989 NES game that’s just a tarot card reading)

Exercise

6 LETTERS

Unit of electric current

Coax

Energetic individual

Exit

Log-cutting tool used by two people: 2 wds.

Cheered (for)

7 LETTERS

Blade on a rifle

You might stick both of your feet into it to glide down a snowy mountain

Place to anchor a boat

Anthem of the country “where pines and maples grow”: 2 wds.

“____ at the Sun” (1997 U2 song)

Bad things to cross, as per Ghostbusters

8 LETTERS

Sully

Biodiversity concern: 2 wds.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 12-letter, 2-word answer for "Where Hooper’s Store is located"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, happy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 420: Pent Words 84

WORDY WEDNESDAY #417
DIVIDED INTO COLUMNS 6 (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #418
DIAGRAMLESS CROSSWORD 7 (hint)

As of this writing, 7 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #419
TOUCHWORD 21 (hint)

As of this writing, 11 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #420
PENT WORDS 84
(click here for a PDF version)

In this puzzle, you must divide the grid into pentominoes (regions containing five cells each), and write a letter in each cell. The rows, reading from left to right, will contain the words hinted at by the Across clues. The letters in the pentominoes, in reading order (left to right starting with the top row), will form the words hinted at by the Pentominoes clues; these clues are presented in no particular order. (In the example, the rows spell PLANT, SHARE, and BITES, and the pentominoes spell the words PLANS, TREES, and HABIT.) Use the ACROSS answers to determine where the pentominoes are.

ACROSS (two answers per row):

1 Paradise / Sheet that protects something from rain

2 Fluid-containing pouch / Tenon’s partner

3 Merriment / Clever

4 Remove, as pencil markings / The capital of the Italian region of Liguria

5 A reddish blue / Legendary crossword writer Reagle

6 Châteaus / ____ Say the Darndest Things

7 Salad namesake Cardini / Can

8 Illusionist Angel / ____ acid

9 Some woodwinds / Stroll

10 The whole nine ____ / Brazilian ballroom dance

PENTOMINOES:

* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

* ____ Coins in the Fountain

* Silly

* Gather

* Guadalajara goodbye

* Avoid, as a difficult issue

* Application

* Belonging to a high aristocratic class

* California roll, for one

* The real ____

* Common garden decoration

* ____ VCS (2021 microconsole based on a 1977 video game console)

* Casts a sidelong glance

* Organ or piano component

* Venomous African snake

* ____ of directors

* Inspector Endeavour of British television and novels

* Get up, as from a chair

* Hot ____ (clothing store)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 7-letter word for "Bad things to cross, as per Ghostbusters"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, happy solving!